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SUPPORTS FOR PLANTS. 
Evert one does not know how to make a plant- 
stick or how to use it. There is a great difference 
in the kind of wood 
which may he chos¬ 
en. Straight-grained 
wood must be used. 
Cedar or redwood is 
preferable. A very 
sharp knife is need¬ 
ed. The most suit¬ 
able stake for ordin¬ 
ary use is tapered 
towards both ends, 
but not equally. The 
largest part should 
be distant Tom one 
end one - fourth or 
one-fifth of the whole 
length of the stick. 
When the stick is 
thrust into the ground 
this largest part will 
be on the surface. 
In tying the plant to 
the stick do not pass 
the string about both 
at once, but tie it to 
the stick first, then 
tie the plant on. This 
will, to some extent, 
lessen the motion 
and wearing of the 
plant. 
To make and nail 
together light trel¬ 
lises is simple and 
pleasant work. The 
possible forms vary 
so much that one’s 
ingenuity may find 
endless exercise, and 
fancy of the con¬ 
structive sort, which 
leaves visible tokens 
everywhere, is a very 
desirable thing to 
possess. Long, thin 
brads are much bet¬ 
ter than nails, and 
both plant-sticks and 
trellises need a coat¬ 
ing of paint, which 
adds to their appear¬ 
ance and makes them 
last much longer. At 
sirable, indeed it is essential, in successful garden¬ 
ing, and plants grow generally much better for being 
properly supported; but in the matter of trellises 
great taste is needed not to make them obtrusive, as 
one place we lately 
saw the long sprouts 
of fruit - trees had 
been woven into 
cheap and effective 
frames to support 
plants and trellises foi vines. This was very much 
better than nothing.— Cal. Horticulturist. 
[The above hints are good. Neatness is very de- 
Water Scenery in German Park. 
if they were placed for ornament rather than use. 
To look well they require to be constructed as light¬ 
ly and simply as possible, and to contrast in color 
with the green of the leaves. Such set figures as 
harps, lyres, etc., made of heavy strips of wood and 
painted white, are an outrage upon good taste, and 
when the leaves have fallen their clumsy forms stand 
bare and staring 
all winter like the 
monuments in a 
country graveyard. 
A simple ladder 
trellis or lattice is 
much more appro¬ 
priate, though some¬ 
times grace of out¬ 
line may be attained 
by an arch or an 
oval. One of the 
prettiest garden 
screens I have ever 
seen was a latticed 
one, with oval spaces 
at intervals the 
height of a door. 
It formed the back¬ 
ground for a fine 
display of brilliant 
flowers, and separat¬ 
ed the front yard 
from the back, h< - 
ing entirely cover¬ 
ed with luxuriant 
climbers, the ovals 
presenting the ap¬ 
pearance of elegant 
wreaths. 
For small climb¬ 
ing plants in a gar¬ 
den bed switches of 
swamp willow make 
quite a graceful sup¬ 
port, as they can be 
bent into almost any 
desired shape. If 
thrifty wood is se¬ 
lected, and they are 
well watered, the 
ends embedded in 
the earth will soon 
take root and the 
switches will sprout 
freely; in this case 
the buds must be 
pinched off as fast 
as they grow' large, 
and in this way a 
frame of li\ ing 
green will be had 
which looks very 
pretty. It is best 
used for some light 
vine like the cyp¬ 
ress or the Lobelia 
gracilis. —Ed. Cab¬ 
inet. 
3 
Oh 
ji 
4i 
As a general rule, moisture is death to insects 
which infest conservatory and window plants. 
